TW202118999A - Mems sensing system - Google Patents

Abstract

A sensing system implements one or more MEMS microphones in order to measure mechanical waves. The sensing system can be part of a larger system used to determine motion and position of a user’s hand or other body part. The MEMS microphones can be part of a plurality of MEMS microphones. There may additionally be MEMS microphones that transmit mechanical waves at certain frequencies that can be measured by the MEMS microphones and subsequently distinguished from other mechanical waves and used to determine additional information regarding movement and position.

Description

MEMS sensing system

The disclosed device and method are related to the field of sensors. In particular, the disclosed device and method are related to gesture and human interaction sensors that sense operations through sound waves (mechanical waves) of motion and position.

This application claims the rights of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/866,206 filed on June 25, 2019, and the content of the case is incorporated herein by reference. This application contains materials subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner does not object to anyone copying the patent disclosures that appear in the files or records of the Patent and Trademark Office, but otherwise, all copyright rights are reserved.

The currently disclosed system and method relate to the principles of designing, manufacturing, and using sensors to implement acoustic signals (mechanical waves) and for designing, manufacturing, and using sensors to implement acoustic signals (mechanical waves). Acoustic signals are used together with devices capable of self-transmitting and receiving signals, or in combination with other devices that implement and transmit other types of signals, or use other types of sensing modes. Acoustic signal means a signal generated by transmitting waves through a medium (such as gas and solid). Acoustic signals can generally be referred to as mechanical waves.

In the present invention, the term "event" can be used to describe the time period in which muscle activity and/or body position are detected and determined. According to an embodiment, the event can be detected, processed and/or supplied to the downstream computing program with very low latency (for example, about 10 milliseconds or less or less than about 1 millisecond).

As used herein and especially as within the scope of the patent application, ordinal terms such as first and second are not intended to imply sequence, time, or uniqueness by themselves, but are used to distinguish the claimed constructions from each other. For some purposes specified in the text, these terms may imply that the first and second series are unique. For example, when an event occurs at a first time and another event occurs at a second time, it is not intended to imply that the first time occurred before the second time, occurred after the second time, or occurred at the same time as the second time. . However, when there is a further restriction that the second time is after the first time in the request item, the content will need to interpret the first time and the second time as unique times. Similarly, where specified or permitted in the context, ordinal terms are intended to be interpreted broadly so that the two identified claim configurations can have the same or different characteristics. Therefore, for example, a first frequency and a second frequency may be the same frequency (for example, the first frequency is 10 Mhz and the second frequency is 10 Mhz) or may be different frequencies (for example, the first frequency) without further restriction. One frequency is 10 Mhz and the second frequency is 11 Mhz). The content may additionally specify that, for example, a first frequency and a second frequency are further limited to being orthogonal to each other, in which case they cannot be the same frequency.

The system described in this article uses acoustic signals to determine movement and position. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's body part. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's hand. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's fingers. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's legs. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's arm. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement and position of a person's head. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the position of one person relative to another. In one embodiment, the system described herein senses the movement of a person relative to a device or an object.

An embodiment of the present invention implements a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) microphone. MEMS microphones are sensors that convert acoustic (mechanical) pressure waves into electrical signals. MEMS microphones can be configured in an array or placed in various positions depending on the desired implementation. In addition, one MEMS microphone can be used instead of multiple MEMS microphones.

An example of a MEMS microphone 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The MEMS microphone has a plate 12 fixed in position. The plate 12 has holes 14 through which acoustic (mechanical) pressure waves can enter. An electrode 16 allows the MEMS microphone 10 to be operatively connected to a system. One of the movable conductive plates 18 is positioned close to the fixed plate 12. A chamber 20 is located under the conductive plate 18. The compressed air exits through a vent hole 22. The MEMS microphone 10 is adapted to measure vibrations occurring in the environment. However, it should be understood that the MEMS microphone shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only and other types of MEMS microphones may be used instead. In fact, it should be understood that any device adapted to receive mechanical waves and convert the received mechanical waves into electrical signals can be used to take the results of the measured waves and turn them into useful information.

A MEMS microphone can use mechanical (acoustic) waves emitted through various media and convert them into electrical signals. The electrical signal can be processed and used to determine information about the importance of the measured mechanical signal. A MEMS microphone is generally used to determine the presence of mechanical waves. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone can measure mechanical waves and determine the specific frequency of one of the measured mechanical waves. In one embodiment, a plurality of MEMS microphones can use the measured mechanical waves and can use the measured and processed mechanical waves to determine the position and movement.

Turning to FIG. 2, the sensing system 200 is shown. The sensing system 200 is a mechanical wave measuring system. In the sensing system 200, a MEMS microphone 202 is adapted to be placed on a person's body. The MEMS microphone 202 is operatively attached or connected to a substrate 201. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone 202 is formed as part of the substrate 201.

The substrate 201 may form part of a wearable device worn by a user. The MEMS microphone 202 can measure mechanical waves emitted through the air. In addition, the MEMS microphone 202 can measure mechanical waves emitted through the user's body. For example, the MEMS microphone 202 can detect the presence of mechanical waves emitted through a user's cortex. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone measures the mechanical waves emitted through the user's cortex. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone measures the mechanical waves emitted through the user's body. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone measures mechanical waves emitted through the air. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone measures mechanical waves emitted through the cortex and the inside of a user's body. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone measures mechanical waves emitted through the cortex, the inside of a user's body, and the air.

In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the movement of a user's hand can be measured by a MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the contact of a user's finger with the other of the user's finger is measured by a MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the partial contact between the finger and the hand is measured by a MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the contact between the finger and the object is measured by the MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the contact between the part of the hand and the other part of the hand is measured by the MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the partial contact between the object and the hand is measured by the MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave generated by the contact between one hand and the other hand is measured by a MEMS microphone. In one embodiment, the mechanical waves generated by the contact of a body part with other body parts or other objects are measured by a MEMS microphone.

The MEMS microphone 202 is operatively connected to a processor 203. The processor 203 can be adapted to process and connect to a plurality of different sensing modalities capable of measuring and determining different aspects of motion and position. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone uses more than one sensing mode (such as, for example) to transmit and receive multiple frequency quadrature signals and use the received signals to further provide the position and movement of a user's hand. Antenna and receiving antenna) operation.

Turning to FIG. 3, the sensing system 300 is shown. The sensing system 300 has a MEMS microphone 302(a). The MEMS microphone 302(a) is one of a plurality of MEMS microphones. Three MEMS microphones 302(a) to 302(c) are shown in FIG. Each of the MEMS microphones 302(a) to 302(c) can be adapted to measure a mechanical wave from the movement of a user's hand or body part. The mechanical waves from various activities of a user can be measured with respect to each of the MEMS microphones 302(a) to 302(c). The measurements performed by each of the MEMS microphones 302(a) to 302(c) can be combined and correlated to provide a more comprehensive picture of the movement and activities of a user's body part. A processor 303 processes the measurement and uses the measurement to provide information about the movement and position of a user's hand.

The measurement of mechanical waves can be used for triangulation measurement of position and to detect various qualities of movement extrapolated from mechanical waves. Because the mechanical wave of the contact between various body parts can be measured, the nature of the mechanical wave can be used to determine the intensity of the activity. For example, a mechanical wave of clapping hands will have a measurement property that is different from the measurement property of a mechanical wave of a snap button.

In addition, machine learning can be applied to data to be able to distinguish different activities based on the measured properties of the received mechanical waves. By applying machine learning to various positions and activities performed by a user, the system's ability to determine positions and activities can become more refined.

Figure 3 shows three MEMS microphones, however, an additional number of MEMS microphones and many different arrays of MEMS microphones can be used. In one embodiment, an array of four MEMS microphones is positioned in a quadrilateral configuration. In one embodiment, an array of four MEMS microphones is positioned along the circumference of a circle. In one embodiment, an array of five MEMS microphones is positioned in a pentagonal configuration. In one embodiment, an array of five MEMS microphones is positioned along the circumference of a circle. In one embodiment, an array of six MEMS microphones is positioned in a hexagonal configuration. In one embodiment, an array of six MEMS microphones is positioned along the circumference of a circle. It should be understood that a larger number of MEMS microphones can be used and configured in various configurations and are not limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. In addition, in some embodiments, the MEMS microphone may be used in a predetermined configuration that may not form a specific pattern but may be determined based on the device or wearable device on which the MEMS microphone is implemented. For example, if implemented in a glove, a MEMS microphone can be placed in the finger area of each finger part of a glove.

When the MEMS microphone is positioned along a circumference of a circle, it is formed or placed in or on a wearable device used by a person. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device placed in the wrist area. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn in the ankle area. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn around the neck. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn around the chest. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn around the waist. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn around an arm. In one embodiment, the MEMS microphone is placed on or in a wearable device worn around the head.

Turning to FIG. 4, an embodiment of the sensing system 400 is shown. The sensing system 400 has a plurality of MEMS microphones 402(a) to 402(d) placed on a substrate 401 on the body of a user. In addition, one or more mechanical wave (acoustic wave) transmitters 404(a) to 404(b) may be placed on the substrate 401. The mechanical wave transmitters 404(a) to 404(b) can generate mechanical waves with recognizable frequencies. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range outside the auditory range (generally considered to be 20 Hz to 20 kHz). In one embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range below 20 Hz. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range higher than 20 kHz. In an embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range of less than 20 Hz and higher than 20 kHz. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range that covers part of the auditory range. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave is emitted in a frequency range between 1 Hz and 100 kHz. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves through the air. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves through the skin. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves through the inside of the body. In one embodiment, the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves through water.

The transmission medium of the mechanical wave will affect the characteristics of the transmitted mechanical wave. When the mechanical wave is received and processed by the MEMS microphone, the processor can be adapted to distinguish the specific mechanical wave emitted by considering the media and accompanying mechanical wave interference. The transmitted mechanical wave can be used to determine the movement and position of the body part based on the processed and received mechanical wave.

It should be understood that although the application of mechanical waves (mechanical waves) is discussed through the application of MEMS microphones and mechanical wave transmitters, other devices that can transmit or receive mechanical (acoustic) waves can be used instead of MEMS devices, except before using MEMS devices. , Other devices that can transmit or receive mechanical (acoustic) waves can also be used. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses an accelerometer. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses accelerometers and MEMS devices. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses piezoelectric devices. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses piezoelectric devices and MEMS devices. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses piezoelectric devices and accelerometers. In one embodiment, the sensing system uses accelerometers, MEMS devices, and piezoelectric devices. The sensing system using one or more different types of mechanical wave transmitting or receiving devices can be further used with other types of sensing modes, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing as discussed below.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a sensing system 500 that implements one of MEMS microphones 502(a) to 502(c) and mechanical wave transmitters 504(a) to 504(b). In addition to the mechanical wave components of the sensing system 500, the sensing system 500 has an additional mode of sensing the position and movement of a hand. In particular, the sensing mode implements a plurality of transmitting antennas 506 and a plurality of receiving antennas 508. The plurality of transmitting antennas 506 are adapted to transmit a plurality of unique frequency quadrature signals generated by a signal generator (not shown in the figure). When receiving at least one of a plurality of unique frequency quadrature signals, the self-measured signal determines information about the position and movement of the body part that interacts with the transmitted signal. The received signal is processed by using a fast Fourier transform. You can find information about transmitting antennas (or conductors) in U.S. Patent Application No. 15/926,478, U.S. Patent Application No. 15/904,953, U.S. Patent Application No. 16/383,090, and U.S. Patent Application No. 16/383,996 And for further discussion of the implementation of the receiving antenna (or conductor), all the contents of the above-mentioned applications are incorporated herein by reference.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the mechanical wave component of the system can provide information about the movement and position of a body part that is not easy to detect from other sensing modalities. In particular, mechanical wave components (such as MEMS microphones 502(a) to 502(c)) can easily obtain information about contact (such as finger touch) of body parts that are not easily distinguishable from the transmitting antenna or the receiving antenna.

In one embodiment, the mechanical wave transmitters can each transmit a signal, which are transmitted signals with frequencies orthogonal to each other. The patent application disclosed above has disclosed the specific principle of a fast multi-touch (FMT) sensor. Regarding the mechanical wave transmitter, a specific principle can be applied to the emitted acoustic wave signal (mechanical wave). Quadrature signals can be transmitted and information can be received by MEMS microphones. In one embodiment, the receiver "samples" the received signal during a sampling period (τ). In one embodiment, the signal is then analyzed by a signal processor to identify the event (including the position and movement of the body part). In an embodiment, one or more transmitters can transmit a signal and the movement of the respective body part affects the received and processed signal. In an embodiment where the orthogonal signals are frequency orthogonal, the interval Δf between the orthogonal frequencies may be at least the reciprocal of the measurement period τ, which is equal to the period of the sampling row conductor. Therefore, in one embodiment, a frequency interval (Δf) of 1 kilohertz can be used to measure the reception at a row of conductors within 1 millisecond (τ) (ie, Δf=1/τ).

In one embodiment, a signal processor of a mixed-signal integrated circuit (or a downstream component or software) is adapted to determine at least one value representing each transmitted frequency quadrature signal. In one embodiment, the signal processor of the mixed-signal integrated circuit performs a Fourier transform on the received signal. In one embodiment, the mixed signal integrated circuit is adapted to digitize the received signal. In one embodiment, the mixed-signal integrated circuit is adapted to digitize the signal and perform a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) on the digitized information. In one embodiment, the mixed-signal integrated circuit (or a downstream component or software) is adapted to digitize the signal present on the received conductor or antenna and perform a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the digitized information, one FFT is a type of discrete Fourier transform.

Those skilled in the art will understand in view of the present invention that a DFT essentially processes a sequence (e.g., window) of digital samples taken during a sampling period (e.g., integration period) as if it were repetitive. Therefore, a signal that is not the center frequency (that is, is not an integer multiple of the reciprocal of the integration period (the reciprocal of which defines the minimum frequency interval)) can have a relatively nominal value, but the result is a small value that undesirably contributes to other DFT frequency bands. Therefore, those skilled in the art will also understand in view of the present invention that the term "orthogonal" used herein is not "infringed" by these small contributions. In other words, when the term "frequency quadrature" is used herein, if substantially all of the contribution of one signal to the DFT frequency band is different from substantially all of the contribution of the other signal to the DFT frequency band, then the two signals are considered to be frequency orthogonal.

An example of this sampled signal is as follows. In one embodiment, the received signal is sampled at 4.096 Mhz. In one embodiment, the received signal is sampled at more than 4 MHz. To achieve kHz sampling, for example, 4096 samples can be used at 4.096 MHz. In this embodiment, the integration period is 1 millisecond, which provides a minimum frequency interval of 1 KHz based on the constraint that the frequency interval should be greater than or equal to the reciprocal of the integration period. (A person skilled in the art will understand in view of the present invention that using 4096 samples at 4 MHz, for example, will produce an integration period that is slightly longer than 1 millisecond, and the minimum frequency interval of kHz sampling and 976.5625 Hz is not achieved). In one embodiment, the frequency interval is equal to the reciprocal of the integration period. In this embodiment, the maximum frequency of a frequency quadrature signal range should be less than 2 MHz. In this embodiment, the actual maximum frequency of a frequency quadrature signal range should be less than about 40% of the sampling rate or about 1.6 MHz. In one embodiment, a DFT (which may be an FFT) is used to transform the digitized received signal into frequency bands of information, and each frequency band reflects the frequency of a frequency orthogonal transmission signal that has been transmitted by the transmitting antenna. In one embodiment, 2048 frequency bands correspond to frequencies from 1 KHz to about 2 MHz. Those skilled in the art will understand that in view of the present invention, these examples are for illustration only. Depending on the needs of a system and limited by the above constraints, the sampling rate can be increased or decreased, the integration period can be adjusted, the frequency range can be adjusted, and so on.

In one embodiment, a DFT (which may be an FFT) output includes a frequency band for each frequency quadrature signal transmitted. In one embodiment, each DFT (which may be an FFT) frequency band includes in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components. In one embodiment, the sum of the squares of the I and Q components is used as a measure of the signal strength corresponding to the frequency band. In one embodiment, the square root of the sum of the squares of the I and Q components is used as a measure of the signal strength corresponding to the frequency band. Those skilled in the art will understand in view of the present invention that a measurement of signal strength corresponding to a frequency band can be used as a measurement related to muscle activity. In other words, the measurement corresponding to the signal strength in a given frequency band will change due to some activity produced by the muscles of the body.

One aspect of the present invention is a mechanical wave sensing system. The mechanical wave sensing system includes: a substrate adapted to be located on a user's body; a plurality of MEMS microphones adapted to receive mechanical waves, wherein at least one of the plurality of MEMS microphones is operatively Attached to the substrate; a processor operatively connected to the plurality of MEMS microphones and a plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the processor is adapted to process the measurement of the mechanical waves received by the plurality of MEMS microphones And use these measurements to determine information about the movement of a body part.

Another aspect of the invention is a system. The system includes: a substrate; a plurality of MEMS microphones adapted to receive mechanical waves, wherein at least one of the plurality of MEMS microphones is operatively attached to the substrate; a plurality of transmitting antennas, wherein the plurality of transmitting antennas At least one of the antennas is operatively connected to a signal generator, wherein the signal generator is adapted to generate a plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals and each of the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is frequency orthogonal to each other; plural Receiving antennas, wherein the plurality of receiving antennas are adapted to receive the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals; and a processor operably connected to the plurality of MEMS microphones and the plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the processor is Adapted to process the measurement of the mechanical waves received by the plurality of MEMS microphones and the measurement of the received unique frequency quadrature signal, where the mechanical waves and the received unique frequency quadrature signal are processed Measurements are used to determine information about the movement of a body part.

Another aspect of the present invention is a mechanical sensing system. The mechanical wave sensing system includes: a substrate; a MEMS microphone operably connected to the substrate and adapted to receive mechanical waves; a mechanical wave transmitter operably attached to the substrate; and a process A device that is operatively connected to the MEMS microphone, wherein the processor is adapted to process the measurement of the mechanical waves received by the MEMS microphone and to determine information about the movement of a hand.

Although the present invention has been specifically shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes in form and details can be made to this document without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

10: Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphone 12: Board 14: Hole 16: electrode 18: Conductive plate 20: Chamber 22: Vent 200: Sensing system 201: Substrate 202: MEMS microphone 203: Processor 300: Sensing system 302(a) to 302(c): MEMS microphone 303: Processor 400: Sensing system 401: substrate 402(a) to 402(d): MEMS microphone 404(a) to 404(b): Mechanical wave transmitter 500: Sensing system 502(a) to 502(c): MEMS microphone 504(a) to 504(b): mechanical wave transmitter 506: Transmit antenna 508: receiving antenna

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more specific description of the embodiments shown in the drawings. In the drawings, reference numerals refer to the same parts in all the various views. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but focus on the principles of the disclosed embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphone.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a sensing system incorporating a MEMS microphone.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a sensing system with a MEMS microphone array.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of a sensing system with a MEMS microphone array and a mechanical wave transmitter.

Figure 5 shows an embodiment of a sensing system having a MEMS microphone array, a transmitting antenna, and a receiving antenna.

500: Sensing system

502(a) to 502(c): Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones

504(a) to 504(b): mechanical wave transmitter

506: Transmit antenna

508: receiving antenna

Claims (20)

A mechanical wave sensing system, which includes: A substrate, which is adapted to be located on the body of a user; A plurality of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones, which are adapted to receive mechanical waves, wherein at least one of the plurality of MEMS microphones is operably attached to the substrate; A processor operably connected to the plurality of MEMS microphones and a plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the processor is adapted to process the measurements of the mechanical waves received by the plurality of MEMS microphones and use the measurements To determine information about the movement of a body part. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of MEMS microphones are arranged along a periphery of a wrist of a user. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 1, wherein the substrate is adapted to be worn on a wrist. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 1, which further includes a mechanical wave transmitter operably attached to the substrate. The mechanical wave sensing system of claim 4, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter is adapted to emit waves into a cortex of a user of the mechanical sensing system. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 4, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves at a frequency higher than 20 kHz. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 4, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter is one of a plurality of mechanical wave transmitters and each of the plurality of mechanical wave transmitters emits at a unique frequency. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 1, wherein the determination information about the movement is the contact between the fingers of a hand. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 1, which further includes a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals are transmitted by at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas. A mechanical sensing system, which includes: A substrate; A plurality of MEMS microphones, which are adapted to receive mechanical waves, wherein at least one of the plurality of MEMS microphones is operatively attached to the substrate; A plurality of transmitting antennas, wherein at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas is operatively connected to a signal generator, wherein the signal generator is adapted to generate a plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals and the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals The frequencies of each are orthogonal to each other; A plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the plurality of receiving antennas are adapted to receive the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals; and A processor operatively connected to the plurality of MEMS microphones and the plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the processor is adapted to process the measurement of the mechanical waves received by the plurality of MEMS microphones and to process the received The measurement of unique frequency quadrature signals, in which the processed measurements of the mechanical waves and the received unique frequency quadrature signals are used to determine information about the movement of a body part. Such as the mechanical sensing system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of MEMS microphones are arranged along a periphery of a wrist of a user. Such as the mechanical sensing system of claim 10, wherein the substrate is adapted to be worn on a wrist. The mechanical sensing system of claim 10, which further includes a mechanical wave transmitter operably attached to the substrate. The mechanical wave sensing system of claim 13, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter is adapted to emit waves into a cortex of a user of the mechanical sensing system. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 14, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter emits mechanical waves at a frequency higher than 20 kHz. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 15, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter is one of a plurality of mechanical wave transmitters and each of the plurality of mechanical wave transmitters emits at a unique frequency. Such as the mechanical wave sensing system of claim 10, wherein the processor is adapted to use the measurements of the mechanical waves received by the MEMS microphone and determine the contact between the fingers of a hand. A mechanical wave sensing system, which includes: A substrate; A MEMS microphone operably connected to the substrate and adapted to receive mechanical waves; A mechanical wave transmitter that is operatively attached to the substrate; and A processor operatively connected to the MEMS microphone, wherein the processor is adapted to process the measurement of the mechanical waves received by the MEMS microphone and determine information about the movement of a hand. Such as the mechanical sensing system of claim 18, wherein the mechanical wave transmitter is one of a plurality of mechanical wave transmitters and each of the plurality of mechanical wave transmitters emits at a unique frequency. Such as the mechanical sensing system of claim 18, which further includes a plurality of transmitting antennas and a plurality of receiving antennas, wherein the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals are transmitted by at least one of the plurality of transmitting antennas.

Images